'Work to be done' to ensure timely trials, top court judge says in Moncton
Chief justice spoke about trial timelines at news conference Monday
The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada says there's been progress ensuring trials are completed in a timely manner, but work remains to be done.
Richard Wagner said the 2016 Jordan decision, which set timelines for trials, was a wake-up call for governments.
"Since the Jordan decision, there has been a lot of investment by provincial and federal governments in the justice system, in the development of technology, for example, in the appointment of judges, the creation of courts, etc," Wagner said in French on Monday in Moncton.
"But there is still a lot of work to be done. But a signal had to be sent."
Wagner made the comments during a news conference in response to questions from reporters about the impact of the decision. He and other justices visited Moncton to mark the top court's 150th anniversary.
The Jordan decision says that trials in provincial court should be complete within 18 months of a charge being laid, while it's 30 months at the Court of King's Bench, which holds jury trials.
While there are some exceptions, going beyond that timeframe can result in the charge being stayed.
In New Brunswick, a small but increasing number of cases have been stayed. The figure went from eight in 2022 to 26 in 2023.
In December, two men in Moncton accused of trying to set up a network aimed at sexually extorting youth had almost all of their combined 21 charges stayed.
Wagner said governments need to continue to adapt.
"Unfortunately, because of Jordan, because of the lack of resources in many provinces, there were a stay of proceedings," he said.
"I mention very often that one stay of proceedings is one too much, one too many. It should not happen."
One of New Brunswick's top judges also addressed the impact of the Jordan decision at Monday's news conference.
"I think we've fared a lot better in New Brunswick than many other provinces," New Brunswick Court of Appeal Chief Justice Marc Richard told reporters.
Richard noted that judicial vacancies and a lack of Crown prosecutors affected the system.
However, he said, the provincial government added more Crown positions and has worked to address delays.
Richard still sees opportunities for improvement, pointing to the provincial court level, where there are times when trials are double or triple-booked.
"But when you think about the impact of that, if a prosecutor has to get ready for three trials on Monday morning at 9 a.m., that's a lot of work only to find out that two of them collapse," Richard said.
Richard hopes to have a committee meet the province's justice minister in April to discuss how to resolve cases sooner to avoid double or triple booking court time.
Richard expressed concern about how the Jordan decision can impact civil cases in the Court of King's Bench. The decision applies to criminal cases but not civil cases.
However, a "tremendous" number of criminal jury trials affect the court's schedule and can result in civil cases being pushed back.
"That's problematic because I think people in the civil area are entitled to have their case heard and to timely justice as well," Richard said.
"It's not constitutionally mandated like it is for criminal cases, but it is a cause of concern for us."
Provincial statistics show it can take up to 18 months to hold a jury trial lasting 10 or more days in Moncton, while in Edmundston that figure is 24 months.
Meanwhile, a civil hearing lasting 10 days or more could take 20 months in Moncton or 14 months in Edmundston.
In February, New Brunswick's deputy minister of justice appeared before a legislature committee and spoke about the impact of Jordan and what's being done.
Mike Comeau said the federal government recently filled a judicial vacancy on the Court of King's Bench. Comeau also said a new collective agreement with Crown prosecutors led to increased interest from applicants for new positions.
'We want that number to be zero'
"We've invested more in legal aid and in court staff and in sheriff services and all the rest to try to handle this extra caseload," Comeau said.
"The main sign of success is that, fortunately, most years were able to count the number of cases lost to the Jordan decision on our hands. It's too many. We want that number to be zero."
Among the steps the province is implementing is introducing justices of the peace to handle bail hearings instead of provincial court judges, a system Comeau told MLAs should free up about three judges.
On Monday, Wager said he's optimistic about the work being done across the country.
"I think that we'll be able to make sure that in the future, there won't be any state of proceedings and that Jordan will be respected."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
